journal article·2026-02Open access

Encapsulating Zinc Powder in MXene/Silk Scaffolds with Zincophilic‐Hydrophobic Polymer for Flexible Zinc‐Ion Batteries

Zixuan Yang, Zhiyu Wang, Junlun Cao, Han Wang, Weiwei Lei, Jingliang Li, Joselito M. Razal, Xungai Wang, Dan Liu

Advanced Functional Materials· Volume 36· Issue 10

Abstract

Abstract Flexible zinc‐ion batteries (FZIBs) offer great promise for wearable energy storage systems due to their safety, environmental friendliness, and low cost. Zinc powder (ZnP) stands out as a promising anode material for FZIBs due to its high surface area, low cost, and good compatibility. However, it suffers from dendrite formation, severe corrosion, and poor structural integrity. Here, a high‐performance flexible zinc anode is reported by encapsulating ZnP within a thermoplastic polycarbonate‐based polyurethane (TPCU) matrix featuring zincophilic and hydrophobic properties and integrating it with a MXene‐coated silk fabric (MXS) current collector. The synergistic integration of TPCU and MXS enables uniform and dendrite‐free Zn deposition, suppresses corrosion, and provides excellent mechanical flexibility. The resulting flexible anode achieves long cycling stability exceeding 2500 h at 1 mA cm −2 for 1 mAh cm −2 and a Coulombic efficiency of 99.75% at 5 mA cm −2 for 1 mAh cm −2 . When paired with a flexible cathode, the fabricated FZIB delivers stable performance to power devices under continuous mechanical deformations, highlighting its potential for flexible energy storage applications. This work presents a feasible approach for constructing robust ZnP‐based anodes for the development of next‐generation FZIBs.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced battery technologies research · Supercapacitor Materials and Fabrication · Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Institute for Frontier Materials Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus, Locked Bag 20000 Victoria 3220 Australia

School of Science RMIT University Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Joint Research Centre for Fiber Innovations and Renewable Materials School of Fashion and Textiles Hung Hom, Kowloon Hong Kong 999077 China

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